Tony Robbins says the #1 human need is certainty, but do you know what the second need is? It’s uncertainty. This tug of war between the competing needs of safety and risk are at the heart of so many dilemmas we face in life and for most folks the goal isn’t to eliminate risk – rather it’s to understand this core human need. In our view, the best way to understand or learn is through stories and so we’ve asked some very talented entrepreneurs and creatives to tell us the stories behind some of the risks they’ve taken.

Kelley & Renee Hayes

We had been living in Texas for 14 years when Kelley’s job was transferring us to the Atlanta, Georgia area. We had recently purchased a 2019 Keystone Raptor 421CK fifth wheel toy hauler to camp on weekends and holidays. In December 2018 we hauled the fifth wheel to Georgia with the intent of Kelley living in the camper until we found a house. We were able to find a nice campground/RV Park close to Kelley’s office. Read more>>

Joey Ferber

Recently, I got a call to do a cruise ship gig on short notice. 15 days sailing Across the Atlantic Ocean from the Netherlands to New York City with a few in Europe before hitting the open ocean. I’d never been on a cruise ship, let alone been hired to play in a band 4 times a night for two weeks straight while floating on top of water several miles deep. Read more>>

Christa Klotz

One of the biggest risks I’ve taken was opening a business with family, it definitely has been a life changing experience. My sister-in-law and I opened The Selfie Room in St Louis in 2019 when we came up with the idea for a photo studio that was open to the public. The Selfie Room was one of the first self service photography studios or “selfie museums” open within the United States. Read more>>

Madi Clark

Back in 2019 I had the opportunity to quit my corporate job to start down a career path in being a freelance photographer and content creator. It was incredibly tough to leave the familiar comfort that I’d known for the past 8.5 years in the corporate world to leaping into the unknown of finding a way to create my own income. Read more>>

Jeannette Garcia

I joined the United States Army at the age of 21, this change my entire life as you could imagine. Prior to making this decision I was working 3 part time jobs and attending school full time and it wasn’t working out for me. I wasn’t responsible and woke up one day realizing I wanted more out of life then just workings, school, partying and waking up everyday and doing the exact same thing. I went to a recruiting office and left two weeks later. Read more>>

Arye Shannon-Carmichael

It’s a classic story, and dancers have experienced it time and time again. You fall in love with dance and spend years of your childhood training to grow up and choose another career path. So that’s it? I’m done performing, creating, and expressing myself through this avenue? I didn’t think I should be. Read more>>

Ashleigh Robinson

Hearing that you could have and would have died before your 40th birthday is hard to take. Had I not listened to my body and relentlessly persisted for an expert to listen, really listen to me; had I simply accepted the expertise of the specialists I saw, my life would be very different today. I am beyond grateful that my doctor was able to identify and remove cancer when he did. Read more>>

Jade Cole

About 3 years ago,2019, I decided to take the risk of depending solely on my art as my main source of income. Having a job has never really been an issue, but when I wanted to focus more on my craft I realized I needed more time . A few years prior,I used to do small portrait commissions for people that were local so I’ve built a nice size clientele by the time 2019 came around. Read more>>

Kauri Mowll

The biggest risk that I have taken is the responsibility of telling the truth. Getting out of the addiction to lying was a task. I had been taught from childhood to lie so I wouldn’t get beat as a child. I was misinformed that this was the way to get out of trouble and trauma, but I was wrong. When I finally decided to be truthful, my risk was other people seeing me without my mask on and I have been driving for the truth since then. Read more>>

Victoria Logan

Starting a business can be very risky at times. Even if you plan each step to the fullest, there’s still unexpected things that could arise that can change the entire path of your journey. I started taking clients in Greenville SC in 2019. I only knew one person that lived in Greenville at the time and I was taking a huge risk by starting a business where I knew very few people. Read more>>

Florence Anderson-Simms

In the year 2020 the pandemic brought the world to a hault. I was an Educator for many years and also a licensed Massage Therapist part time.. My business was mobile at the time; where I would go to clients home and businesses to do massage services. Just before the pandemic occurred I wanted to have my spa business full time. However, I wanted somewhere my clients could come to. get the experience. Read more>>

Kari Kirkland

On January 30, 2021, while scrolling through social media, I saw a post from the wife of a musician-friend of mine. She was reaching out to her community to ask if anyone was willing to be tested to become a kidney donor for her husband, who had been on dialysis for over 8 years. He had recently been accepted onto the National Registry to receive a kidney, but quickly discovered that he was 97,000+ on the list. Read more>>

Asill Tantush

To be an artist is to be a risk-taker, experimenting with possible failure, ugliness and the feeling of paint wasted, for the potential discovery of something completely new, amazing, unique and original. Growing up in Libya ”North Africa”, under Muammar Gaddafi dictatorship we were so Isolated travel was restricted and learning other languages was forbidden, between the harsh living environment and restrictive cultural values and traditions, Read more>>

Chantel Richardson

In the midst of being more active in my digital marketing consultancy NINETYDEGREE Digital, beginning the platform Tizzy Tlks, and recording for The Chantizzy Podcast, I was evicted from my home and had to quit my job due to not being able to find a stable living situation. Within this I relocated to another state, and decided to dedicate my last form of income into my craft. This afforded me the ability to work on the things I loved full-time. What I lost however, seemed far greater. Read more>>

Heather Holloway McCash

Risk taking is a different experience after a major illness. When you’ve been so sick you weren’t sure if you’d wake up the next day, moving to another city and learning a whole new career doesn’t seem like such a big deal. After 15 years with undiagnosed neurological Lyme disease and one successful year of treatment, I moved back to Nashville from New York City. Read more>>

Wed Dawina

It all started in 2016 wehn i was going to graduate from high school but i failed because back at that time my grandma had cancer and that was a big turn in my life i was so sad and depressed, but i was trying for her to stay strong and to keep going , her illness and death had effected me so bad that i got diagnosed with sever depression and i’ve been taking therapy for 5 years now , Read more>>

Crystal Burton

Opening a business during the pandemic was risky , but it did not stop Londyn , Leyah , or Legacy. Stuck in the house with nothing to do. The young businesswomen adjusted and made a plan & adapted to the circumstances using social media to reach clients. They delivered lemonades by car with parents , They also set up next to local food trucks at the pike. Donated lemonade to the homeless with their grandma. “ who has a non profit which inspired them more to do their own Read more>>

Kanisha Hayden

Being an entrepreneur is all about taking risks whether you like it or not. No one ever has the perfect plan to have the perfect business. I thought everything would be easy, but I had to learn the hard way. One of the risks that I took was a financial risk for my business. As a teenager, I didn’t have enough money to fund a business but, my mom had a full-time job as a mom and head of household. Read more>>

Erin Painter

One of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken was opening my own business after spending I 13yrs in the spa industry as a licensed esthetician. It’s scary, it’s expensive, it’s hard work no one sees and you have no idea how it will turn out! After working for others for so long, I finally decided to go out on my own… in January 2020, what could go wrong? I was open for 9 weeks before a deadly pandemic shut me down for 102 days, followed quickly by 2 more shutdowns! Read more>>

ILL BEAST

One risk I took was starting up my own little clothing brand. Branched off my rap artist name ILL BEAST COLLECTIONS. I took the last little bit I had saved and invested in starting my own clothing brand. Started up with $700 dollars and turned that into $15,000 profit in under 9 months. It was a hard decision to make at first, especially being on the crossroads of being broke and now a pandemic coming up on us. Fear took over my feelings and I started to doubt everything. Kept asking myself will this work? Read more>>

Amber Watson

In 2017 I had my first child and was working in events at a catering company. I loved my job, my coworkers and finally felt like I’d found my industry. My calling, if you will. I found myself crying morning and evening after dropping off and picking up my 3 month old and thought, this isn’t it. I am not meant to leave him for 9 hours a day. Read more>>

Kamilah Sanders

One of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken was jumping into entrepreneurship. They call working for a corporation the “golden handcuffs” for a reason because you have a good salary and benefits and there’s not really a reason for you to start your own venture. After working in corporate organizations for years, (even though I worked for an organization that was know globally as the most sustainable, ethical corporation) I knew I wanted more autonomy to maximize my impact on the world. Read more>>

Breanna Duff

Being a forensic psychologist was always my goal in life. I graduated from East Tennessee State University in 2019 with my bachelor’s degree in Human Services and quickly landed employment as a Family Services Specialist working in Foster Care. I decided to pursue my master’s degree in Criminal Justice at East Tennessee State University to gain a better understanding in that specific field. It was obvious that Criminal Justice was not my thing, Read more>>

Erin Friedman

I got my MFA in painting and design and always knew I wanted to be a creative. When I graduated college I had such a love for painting but followed a path in graphic illustration because it felt more financially secure as a full time career. After a decade in the industry, the pandemic flipped my world around. Overnight, my 3 children (at the time all under age 5) stopped attending school, and I needed to be home, supporting them. Read more>>

Chante Hall

There are way too many times for me to count on taking risks as an entrepreneur and each risk has helped me to grow stronger & wiser! Recently I took a risk by adding a new business under my umbrella, I was contemplating with this idea to obtain party rentals for a while. I kept talking myself out of the idea that if I purchased the machines people would not rent them, Read more>>

Caroline Murray

I took a huge risk in 2022– quitting my job of seven years to pursue my own business! I was an elementary school teacher and reading specialist for seven years. I used to love teaching — it was what I always dreamed of being as a little girl, and I got my undergrad and master’s degrees in education. Long story short, I burned out, like many teachers do. As I was starting to burn out, I started my own Virtual Assistant business, Virtually Possible. Read more>>

Lingo Blue

I grew up in a relevant small town in Georgia where opportunities to pursue my dreams as a artist were slim to none. I started out as a writer and hype man for a group of friends that would later turn into a group by the name of YGB(young gifted and black). We use to ride around kickin freestyles over instrumentals created by another member of the group at the time and I would always jump in just for fun. Read more>>

Danny Bess

I am a self-taught artist and a trained musician and have worked for a major food distributer for the past 12 years. In fact, my art has always been a sustaining force in my life, but I always made it a secondary passion making my career primary. Taking time to develop my skills and ideas while having a steady flow of money in the meantime. Over the past two years with the pandemic raging on I used my artistic practice as a way of releasing stress and unease. Read more>>

Natascha Rautenberg

So, originally, I went to school to become a graphic designer/ photographer.. but 9 months in I actually dropped out. It was a fancy private art college that was more of a joke than anything and I couldn’t justify the cost after starting. From there, I bounced around in a variety of industries from restaurants, to nannying, to construction, to finance, where eventually I saw a recent classmate share about their “Microblading” experience. Read more>>

Mike Harden

One of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken was starting my current business, Caribbean Grill. The whole story starts more than a decade ago. I graduated from college in 2005, and then completed my MBA in 2009, both from the University of Illinois. After school, I worked professionally in Information Technology before brainstorming from my apartment kitchen table what would later become Caribbean Grill. Officially, Caribbean Grill started in the summer of 2010, debuting at a local food festival that year. Read more>>

Aaron Preciado

Taking a risk to start my own business was something I’ve always wanted to do. At the time, I was at a dealership going on five years and it was great. I learned a lot, honed in on my skills, and was feeling pretty comfortable where I was. So comfortable that I was just another employee, moving myself up to becoming manager, so you can say it was great. I had everything, so of course I was comfortable. Read more>>

Anna Sharp

I’ll admit I’m not much of a risk taker. I would rather be overprepared and 30 minutes early, than even a minute late, but I think that’s what makes me a great entrepreneur. It’s not only the work you do for your clients, but the impression you leave. That being said, opening a studio at the height of the pandemic was definitely a risk, but the creativity it allowed me, during a very lonely time, kept me sane and I was able to hone my craft in a way I never had before. Read more>>

James Picard

When I started shooting my first documentary film, “The Dark and The Wounded”, it seemed a daunting task. Especially as I wanted to shoot at Alcatraz penitentiary in San Francisco as an ending to my film, It felt like I started my journey as a novice hiker and was standing at the base of Mount Everest beginning my ascent to the impossible summit. I recall an inspirational quote I had read around this time by T.S. Eliot, “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” So Began the start of my journey that ended up taking me to heights and destinations I could never have imagined at the time. Read more>>

Luana Sandoval

My name is Luana Sandoval and I am a German/Nicaraguan singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. I grew up in a small village in Germany called Saarburg. When I was a little girl, I always admired women in the performing arts. This admiration turned into a passion for dance and music. I went to the theater every week to see ballet and opera performances. Read more>>

Haja Tunkara

I had always dreamed of opening a fitness studio, a place where I offered options for women (and men) to work on their wellness goals, not just physical, but wholistic wellness; mind, body and spirit. I endeavored with little to no experience running a brick and mortar business with much of my savings in tow and gave it a valiant shot. I financed the start of my fitness studio 100% digging very deep into my personal savings to make this thing happen. Read more>>

Joanie Nicholas

Asking for help. Why does this feel so scary to most of us? On my 25th birthday I found myself living in a new city. My career was on track, but my love life was not. I was lonely and depressed. I had thought about seeking therapy in the past but had a lot of negative stereotypes in my mind about people who need mental health services. Plus, I felt embarrassed at the idea of spilling my feelings at the judgement of a stranger. Read more>>

Margie Whyte

I have started on this journey of being an entrepreneur late in my career. I should be saving for retirement taking only calculated risks, but I was so mistreated at work it impacted my health. I figured, how much better would I feel if I did not have to deal with a company that does not properly address invisible disability. Read more>>

Shannisha Donnerson

Picture it. Graduated college with a bachelors in Media Arts and Animation. Nashville, TN, where to go from here. My friends and instructors are talking about traveling and exploring states that are big on animation. All this is a foreign concept because I never expected to leave Tennessee. So the idea of moving anywhere was wild to me. California. The most I knew about California was that its where the movies happen, THAT’S IT! Read more>>

Alexandra Russell

I think being an artist and risk-taking are somewhat synonymous, and I’ve grown to become comfortable with perfection within imperfection. Throughout my journey in defining my style and learning different mediums, there has always an element of risk. It could be something small like drawing a line in a seemingly random place on a portrait or something bigger like financially investing in having your art seen. Read more>>

Ariel Richardson

Taking a risk for me was pretty simple. I put my whole trust in God and I quite my good paying job with excellent benefits of 4 years . After having my second child didn’t ask any questions . Just left to chase my dream my career my lifestyle. The Bible says “faith without works is dead James 2:26 “ In order to fully be who God has called me to be I had to walk out on Faith with out questioning God. Read more>>

Ramona Schwartz

I never thought I would ever open my own business let alone be in the tattoo and beauty industry but here I am! My journey was interesting, I was content in my career as a Certified Surgical First Assist/Surgical Tech. However, after learning to tattoo and being certified in permanent makeup, my parents and husband saw something more in me. They begin to push me into really considering opening a studio. Read more>>

Crystal Yang Courtney Delgado

Starting a new business is always risky; especially a new idea in a niche market. We both literally gave up our stable income and invested our own money into creating Perky, an inviting space for all affected by breast cancer. We each wear many hats and learned new skills we thought we’d never have to. One of our main services is nipple restorative tattooing for breast cancer survivors after having to remove their breast due to cancer. Read more>>

Kasia Kulbowska

I am an astrologer and I follow my life purpose as indicated by my astrological chart, a map of potentials this life. My vocation point is in the sign of Aries. A fire sign that loves to pioneer in any field, be independent, lead by example and truly express the uniqueness of a person. Read more>>

Kayla King

The risk I took was to continue college or take a leap of faith to chase my dreams. When I did go to college I was very indecisive well more so uncertain . Going to college I could’ve been whatever I put my mind to whether it was being a scientist, music teacher, special education teacher, business, art teacher, or even a mathematician. I’ve always been a bookworm & focus on my studies to achieve incredible grades. Read more>>

Tumkeen

I was a mother of six, hiding inside the fortress of my home. No judgement in this sanctuary… no one’s but my own. Here, I was away from the world out there. In here, no one was going to judge me for my debilitating anxiety or depression. In here, I was safe from the outside world. A world where people connected with words and laughter. Parties, lunches and a coffee out with a friend. It was a world I knew nothing about because I felt uncomfortable in it. Read more>>

Carlo Loiudice

I was only 21 when I decided to become an actor. It was the first risk I took in my life. Living as an actor is not easy, especially if you start out in southern Italy. I wore the shoes of many different characters for years on stages all over Italy, until one day I discovered Berlin, fell in love with it and left everything behind. This is the second risk I have taken and I have been living in the German capital since 2011. But it doesn’t end here. My passion for personal growth led me to discover the power of coaching and today I have my own business as a public speaking and life coach. Read more>>